Taxi Driver Online

Reminds me of the Stoke lady earlier this week who died after falling when getting out of a cab because of her footwear. No blame attributed to driver.

But here the driver clearly made a mistake, and police think he should be out of a job as a consequence, although the passenger didn't even need medical treatment.

Of course, we weren't there and haven't heard all the evidence, but to me it seems a bit harsh.

That's not to say he's lost his badge, because the decision has been deferred, but Police Scotland certainly objecting to his renewal


Glasgow cabbie who drove off before passenger was safely on board could lose licence

https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glas ... e-21579381

Councillors heard that the passenger suffered bruising after the door was slammed onto her foot, and Police have said the private hire driver was not fit to keep his licence.

A Cab driver who drove off before his passenger was safely inside the vehicle has been warned he could lose his private hire car licence.

Shamim Elahi was convicted in March 2018 under the Road Traffic Act, fined £130 and had three penalty points put on his licence following the incident in 2017.

Mr Elahi had picked up two female passengers in Glasgow who were travelling to Glasgow Airport.

He was witnessed putting luggage in the boot of the car and driving off before one of the women was fully inside.

At this point Mr Elahi had not realised that the rear door was open or that the woman was not properly inside.

This caused the passenger door to collide with a vehicle which was parked nearby causing the door to bounce back and hit the woman’s right hand and foot which was still outside.

She suffered bruising to her right foot however did not attend hospital or her GP.

Mr Elahi was brought before the licensing committee on Wednesday morning where councillors were expected to decide whether or not he should keep his licence.

Police Scotland objected to his application on the grounds that he was not a fit and proper person. Mr Elahi then asked for his case to be continued so that his lawyer could attend the hearing and represent him.

He explained: “On September 1, my lawyer sent a letter to the licensing team asking for a deferral.

“He was unable to attend the meeting today due to other commitments but he wrote to you asking for a continuation.”

Committee members were unaware of any letter but agreed to the request.

Chairman councillor Alex Wilson said: “In terms of natural justice I think it is only fair that you are able to be represented by your lawyer.

“In that case I move that we continue this application until a later date and we can call you back at a later date when your lawyer is present.”

Councillors still need to decide if Mr Elahi's licence should be renewed or if they will remove it. A decision will be made at a later date.

we had a similar incident a few years ago and the car door hit a lamp post and injured the passengers leg but the council didn't investigate because the injured passenger described the driver as asian

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Badge renewed for the full three years with a warning.

Did think the police objection was a bit harsh for something like this

Some of this below is just rehash, but it's quite short and serves as a memory jog.


Glasgow cab driver who set off while passenger not fully in car keeps licence

https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glas ... ts-wrapper

His passenger was left with injuries to her foot after the door hit another vehicle, but councillors decided to let him keep his licence and instead issued a warning.

A cab driver who set off for Glasgow airport while his passenger was still not fully inside the car kept his licence following an appearance in front of councillors.

Shamin Elahi was granted a three year private hire car driver’s licence with a warning this week.

The Glasgow City Council licensing and regulatory committee heard from a police officer that Mr Elahi drove off while a woman was partially outside his vehicle on April 30 in 2017.

PC Stuart Morton said: “He picked up a pre booked hire, which was two females travelling to Glasgow Airport. A male friend put their luggage in the boot of the vehicle and witnessed it moving off before one of the females was fully inside.”

Mr Elahi didn’t realise the back door was open and his customer wasn’t properly in the car. The passenger door then hit another parked vehicle and bounced back and whacked the woman’s right hand and foot. She was left with a bruised foot.

The married father was fined £130 and got three penalty points at court for driving without due care and attention.

His lawyer said Mr Elahi has had a private hire licence for several years and apart from this instance has an “unblemished record.”

I think the Police up there basically object to any license renewal that has question marks against it.

Maybe someone cruel would say they are trying to justify their jobs. So much easier dealing with cabby's applications than walking the streets trying to keep the locals safe.

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IDFIMH

Not sure precisely how it works down there, but I think Police Scotland have a specific legislative remit with regard to applications and renewals, so that might explain their more gung ho approach.

But as for your point about it being easy points scoring for them rather than walking the streets, don't get me started

Anyway, anyone spot a factual inconsistency between the two articles? Not sure if it's that important, but certainly changes the dynamic of what went on a bit.

Makes me slightly less sympathetic towards the driver now that I've noticed it, but of course there's often apparently minor details like this that aren't even mentioned, but which might change the scenario fundamentally, so as usual it's difficult to pass judgement without knowing all the facts.

The police have no say about who or what gets licensed.

Clearly if someone has committed a crime or is on a naughty list somewhere then the police can be a source of info, but they have no say over who gets licensed.

That is down to licensing officials and in some cases licensing councillors.

And of course in a few cases the courts.

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IDFIMH

What I meant was that I get the impression that police in Scotland are more 'baked in' to the process, and to that extent may be more pro-active with regard to the whole thing.

Maybe worth taking a look at Schedule 1 of the 1982 Act, which outlines all the procedural stuff, and is great bedtime reading. But instead of reading the whole thing, use Ctrl-F to search for 'constable' (which will find the relevant references, which in the procedure are to the 'chief constable').

Not that I've ever looked into the similarities and differences between up here and down there in any depth, but it would make for an interesting exercise in comparative law if anyone has a spare couple of days. Or maybe part of a PhD thesis if anyone has a spare couple of years

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1982/45/schedule/1

Looking at it very briefly it seems that all the legislation says is that the police should be informed of every application.

It also allows people to object to applications, and clearly the police object up there all the time.

I much prefer down here where councils look at the facts, not the opinions. In other words, the DBS and DVLA checks trump views from everyone, bar I suppose LOs.

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IDFIMH